At 5:27pm we reached Solomons Island, MD. We have crossed our outward path and will leave Rafiki here while we travel elsewhere for a few weeks.

It was a long day today traveling from Deltaville (Fishers Bay),VA. to Solomons Island about 54 miles. We left a little before 7:30am waving goodbye to Swiftwing and saying a few words on the VHF and wishing them a good trip south.

We anticipated10-15 knots of wind out on the Bay but for most of the day saw less than 10 knots and had to resort to motor sailing. It was grey and miserable and in the early afternoon the rain caught up with us.

Because we had anticipated sailing we did not take fuel at the marina in Fishing Bay deciding to leave before they opened. We had to use one of our Gerry cans as we were running low. Dave was reluctant to use the fuel as it had been on board for months, however it would have been ridiculous to run dry and airlock the system with 15 gallons on board! It looked clear and we have had no problems. The remaining cans are destined to be poured into our oil tank at home. We have not taken fuel since the Alligator River!

Tonight we are at anchor in Mill Creek near Solomons. We have our space heater on to warm up and have had a refreshing cup of tea. Later we will have a celebratory dinner aboard.

Tomorrow we will take our slip and begin to remove all our cruising gear and give Rafiki a wash and brush up before we leave her. She is a great boat and has served us well.

In review, our winter trip south did not work out as planned. We travelled a long way, about 1,000 miles in total down the east coast of the USA and back. Through busy and remote areas of great natural beauty, some can only be seen from a boat. It was an adventure rather than a vacation and we met some great people. I would rather not have met the staff at Riverside Hospital, but they made me well so I could continue the journey! When the winter weather caught up with us we enjoyed our time in Charleston and were able to get to know it well. The weather on our return trip has been benign. It's been mild apart from the last 2 days and although very rainy we have only had one weather delay. This has allowed us to make excellent time and we have 5 days in hand. It's all good. As a friend said the other day, "the Bahamas will still be there next year!"